Windows to the Soul
by Halliesaurus
Summary: Aiko should have been killed the night Itachi murdered the entire Uchiha clan. Should have been. Wasn't. Yet there is more to Aiko than just being a second Uchiha survivor - her secret could be Konoha's greatest asset, or the instrument of its' destruction. OC, slightly AU. (UNDERGOING REWRITE - Updates will be slow.)
1. Considerations

One

Aiko was hiding in the corridor when it happened. Her mother had already sent her to bed, but Aiko wanted to see the visitor as well. Though young, when she peeked to spot an optimal time to interrupt she realised something was wrong. There were voices:

"I know what you're here for, Uchiha Itachi. I knew this would happen one day," that was her father's voice. She could see him stood solidly in front of her mother. The visitor was still blocked from view. "...We're ready to be victims of your mission, just... leave our girl out of it. Aiko isn't part of any clan. They don't even know about her. She was born after our exiles please, have mercy..."  
"We shall see." With a flash of silver their forms crumple to the floor, coating it in crimson.  
"Mama! Papa!" Aiko screamed, running into the room and dropping to her knees, shaking her mother as if doing so would revive her.

Drip.

Drip.

Aiko was unaware of the other presence in the room until the dripping blade pressed against her chin. She whimpered, lifting her eyes to finally meet those of her mid night visitor, simply noticing they were astonishingly red before her vision completely blurred with tears.

Itachi stood gazing down at the helpless child. Her parents were known by the Leaf as Uchiha - especially her father, Uchiha Mamoru. Their lives were forfeit to Itachi's mission - exile or no. Though, Mamoru-san was right in that the girl had no part in the events that had past. She was not a known Uchiha, she was not part of Itachi's mission. Itachi weighed up his options; the child was innocent, but she had the potential to lock unimaginable power – if that power was turned against the Leaf...

He took another look at her, sobbing now. The tip of his blade was starting to cut into her chin.

_...have mercy..._

Aiko began to bawl, laid beside her parents. She did not notice that the visitor had gone, only that in the light of the blood moon, the rain looked just as scarlet as the substance coating her hands.


	2. Yamigakure

Chapter Two: Yamigakure.

Aiko shot up in bed, voice hoarse from screaming in her sleep.

"Shh child it's okay," Arms wrapped around her and held her gently but firmly.  
"Kaede Obaa-san… Obaa-san I saw him again!" She sobbed in the old woman's arms. Aiko dreamt often of the man with the red eyes. She was terrified of him but she didn't remember why, and her Obaa knew this. She let go and stroked Aiko's face to comfort her.  
"Shh, you're safe now dear. Come, today is registration day, hmm? Chie is waiting for you." The girl nodded, and Kaede released her. Aiko wiped her tears and slid out of bed, and Kaede rifled through the dresser against the wall at the foot of the bed to fetch her some fresh clothes. Her Obaa was old now; her own black hair was sprinkled with lines of silver, her face had started to get some deep set wrinkles, especially around her brown eyes. Yet, the old lady still had an air that was almost regal. Whether that came from the traditional yukatas she wore or her general calm, collected demeanor, Aiko was unsure. Kaede took a set of clothes out of the drawer and handed them to Aiko.  
"When you're washed up and dressed come down for breakfast," Kaede smiled, and planted a quick kiss on the top of Aiko's head.

Aiko pulled on her fishnet protectors before dressing in the white crop top and black shorts. She sat on the bed to pull her shoes on and caught her reflection in the mirror of the dresser. Her black hair was kept cropped short - longer hair was just uncomfortable, and in the long run, impractical. She had strong black eyebrows but soft lavender eyes, with a small nose and decently high cheekbones. Her jawline was tight, leading to her sharp chin which bore a thin, white scar - the origin of which Aiko was unsure of if she wanted to remember. Her eyes settled on the clan emblem emblazoned on the half-long sleeve of her top, the yin-yang shaped crest of the Rikimaru clan. Of course, Aiko was not a Rikimaru like her Obaa, and most of the members of the clan made sure she knew it. She was only allowed to live after daring to wear that symbol because she had technically been adopted by Kaede at a very young age, and so under was her protection. Aiko shook her head to free it of such thoughts, finishing lacing up her shoes.

Once her shoes were tied she went to the washroom before heading into the kitchen, and her mood lifted considerably as she noticed the long black haired girl sat at the table. Chie was dressed in the ceremonial plain black garb of Yamigakure's death priests, her bright green eyes hidden under a heavy fringe. Barely visible on her back under her hair was the emblem of the Miyazawa clan, a dark blue circle with a silvery crescent moon.  
"Chie!" Aiko threw her arms around her best friend, who was dipping Aiko's favourite steamed prawn gyoza in soy sauce.  
"Ai-chan I'm trying to eat," She responded, patting the seat beside her to indicate Aiko should sit. "I came to make sure you weren't late."  
"You didn't have to, I would've made it!" Aiko sulked, sliding into the seat next to her friend and grabbing one of the gyoza. Chie turned from her food to her friend, but said nothing.  
"Come on girls, chop chop! You've got to walk to the Academy District yet!" Kaede Obaa called from the kitchen. "Here take your lunch, my dear." She handed a small tupperware box to Aiko, who slipped it into her pack.  
"Thanks, Obaa-san!" She called, and the two girls walked out of the house.

Aiko stepped out of the house and took a deep breath, taking in the surroundings of her village. She had been led into Yamigakure by Kaede almost a decade ago, but it never ceased to amaze her how an entire populace could be hidden inside an excavated mountain range. If the stories were to be believed, Yamigakure's founders were best friends; the most powerful member of the Hashira clan used his incredible skill in seirei kabe to excavate the inside of the entire mountain range, and then a member of the Rikimaru clan used their most prized jutsu, hikari kyokusen, to bring light from the very tip of the mountains to everyone living in the lower levels. These two men went on to be the first Kuroyama and Shiroyama - the leaders of Yamigakure. Well at least that was how the stories went.  
"Come on Ai-chan," Chie hooked her arm with Aiko's and dragged her down the street.  
"You didn't have to come all this way to get me Chi-chan," Aiko mumbled unhappily. The mountains of Yamigakure each had four floors, all suspended circles connected to the level below by steep spiraling streets around the mountains edge. The tip of the mountain contained movable rocks to allow light for curving, the village's growth pods, and the messenger stations used across Academy District was in the adjacent mountain to where Aiko lived, Chie's home in the Clan Houses district was in the mountain after that.  
"Don't be silly. Besides, I wanted to say hi to Rikimaru obaa-sama."

"Wanted to eat my food more like."

The two walked together merrily through the tunnels that connected to the Academy District, but their merriment was short lived as they turned out of the tunnel to hear the Great Gate of the Academy begin to screech.  
"Chi-chan we're LATE!" Aiko pulled her arm free from her friend's and ran towards the gate at full speed.  
"We'll make it, Ai-chan." Chie called, easily keeping up pace with the frantic Aiko. The two shot forward through the gate, making it seconds before it clanked shut, and heaved themselves over to the registration booth.  
"Yoshiyama… Aiko...and… Miyazawa, Chie… present," Aiko panted at the clerk, who raised an eyebrow dubiously but ticked the appropriate boxes on the attendance sheet.  
"The ceremony has already started, but you can still make it." The clerk thumbed in the direction of the main hall.

As the girls slipped into the back of the hall quietly the Shiroyama was giving the traditional yearly speech.  
"As far as we in Yamigakure are concerned you are all capable shinobi, however you cannot be considered field worthy until you have undergone these shiko. This test is a privilege, and also a burden. It should not be taken lightly. There is no dishonour in being unsuccessful; we will always need brave souls to protect our home."  
The Shiroyama paused, taking some papers that were handed to him from the side of the stage.  
"The first cohort of ninja entered for the shiko…" he started with the oldest candidates, and steadily ninja began filing out of the hall - the successful applicants waiting to be told the next stage, the unsuccessful ones leaving in various different stages of disappointment. This process continued until there were only a handful of ninja left.  
"The youngest cohort entered for the shiko, the fifteen year olds, are as follows: Amachi, Ko. Budou, Isamu. Hashira, Yamato. Hayabusa, Kano. Hayabusa, Shouta. Ikari, Mio. Kenma, Ryuu. Miyazawa, Chie. Rikimaru, Seiichirou. Rikimaru, Takehiko. Tsuge, Masaru. Yoshiyama, Aiko."

Aiko could barely contain her excitement until after the last unsuccessful applicants had left the hall.  
"We did it Chie! We're in the trials!" She said barely in a whisper as Chie linked arms and walked her to the front of the hall.  
"So you clawed your way into the cohort, Yoshiyama-san. A shame, I know plenty of good ninja that deserve it more than you." a voice called in a tone so cold it could only belong to Takehiko.  
"I see you made it as well, Rikimaru-kun." Aiko tried to keep a calm as the haughty teenager stalked up to her.  
"You wouldn't even be here if my Obaa-san hadn't moved to the Foreign District to stay with you! Face it, there's no way an outsider like you would ever be chosen to represent our village in the outside world! I know Obaa-san will have bowed her head for you to even be considered for these trials!" The boy spat venomously making Aiko flinch, and though they pretended otherwise it was clear everyone in the hall had heard.  
"And we're supposed to pretend we don't know that you've only been selected because you're the Shiroyama's darling son, Takehiko-kun?" Chie responded casually.  
"Your clan has a lot of respect in this village, Miyazawa-san, so I will forgive you for speaking so out of turn to my younger brother this once." Seiichirou, who had thus been stood silently beside Takehiko, zeroed in on Chie. "I will however give you a word of advice; looking after a stray may seem like kindness, but it won't stop them feasting on your flesh when you die."  
"Oh? Is that so?"

Before Chie could complete whatever sharp reply that had come to her, a hand tapped the microphone on the stage.  
"Allow me to be the first to congratulate you, our brightest youngsters, on your successful registration for the shiko." The Shiroyama smiled brightly. "As the leader of our village it makes me so happy to see that even the youngest of us strive together to build a future for the next generation of Yamigakure."  
"With that, I have the pleasure of informing you of your first task in accordance to the rules of the shiko, the Pre-Qualifier. You must, within thirty-six hours of this notice, form a chakra pair and be able to successfully demonstrate the effective mix of your two chakra natures. This will be the last I see of you before the shiko are complete, so I wish you all a safe journey."  
A murmur of discomfort spread through the group as the Shiroyama turned to leave the stage, but as an afterthought he turned back and added:  
"Oh, and good luck."


End file.
